Firsts in the Greene Family

Well I guess it is time again to update my blog! So since my last post we have had a few adventures and new things in our family. Ethan started preschool and he absolutely LOVES it! I can not believe how much he has already learned in the first month. I knew he was smart, but he still surprises me daily. He really loves to show me his art projects and sing me the new songs he has learned. I am so grateful for his wonderful teacher Miss Stephanie.

It is sometimes hard to know what to teach your kids and what things they need to be learning and doing. So I am grateful for some outside help with this. Like I had no idea that puzzles are good for young children because they help develop brain skills that they use for reading. So his teacher said that Ethan was too good at the easy puzzles so I needed to challenge him with hard puzzles. So the next day I bought a race track puzzle with 30 pieces that said for ages 5+. I thought this would challenge him because the puzzle was mostly a race track so I thought it would be a little bit tricky for him. So I got it out for him and walked away to help Sophie and when I came back 5 minutes later he had finished the puzzle all by himself. So I figures that I needed to challenge him a little bit more so I bought a 100 piece puzzle with smaller pieces it was of a Boston Terrier eating a piece of watermelon. He needed a little bit of help but I was amazed at how much he did all by himself, and he was telling Shaun and me where pieces went and he was right.

He also tells us things out of the blue that he learned in preschool, in September they were learning about the rainforest. So one day I was helping him out of the car and he was looking for his toy he had with him. After a little bit he said "that is okay I will just leave it here for later, kind of like a monkey leaves his banana in his tree." I laughed so hard, it totally caught be off guard. But I guess he had been learning about Monkeys in preschool and how they live in trees. He also learns spanish at school so one day he said "mom did you know that mariposa is butterfly in spanish and la rana is frog" (I probably misspelled) I am just so thankful to have someone that is teaching Ethan these things that I do not think of doing myself. He is so excited about everything he is learning and about and all his new friends he is making.

Sophie is doing great she is growing up so much and is also learning so much. She talks a lot now and says some of the funniest things. One day Shaun and I were out with the kids and Shaun said something to Sophie about how she was his baby Sophie's response was "I not a baby." We were shocked and thought maybe we heard her wrong so we called her a baby again and she said it again. I have to admit it made me a little sad she is only 18 months old and she is still my baby! She is a little lost without Ethan on the days he is at school, but I think she enjoys having mom and dad to herself those days. I also think it is important for the kids to have their own things separate from each other. Sophie also had her first haircut recently her hair was getting so long I hated to cut it. But it was growing more in the back so it was starting to look like a mullet. So we took her to cookie cutters and she got a cute A-line cut. It really fits her personality.

Shaun and I are doing well his Real Estate is keeping him very busy which is a good thing. Shaun and I did something that was a first for us we left the kids for a weekend and went to Moab for our 7 year anniversary. It was a blast we went camping in his new truck tent and did some hiking. The biggest adventure for us that trip was we decided to go kayaking on the Colorado river. Neither of us had done it before, so we were a little nervous. We thought we could do a 7 mile stretch, but we were wrong. We got in the river and realized that we were not prepared for that long of run. So we just did a short run that took us about 2 hours. It was a lot of fun a little scary but a lot of fun. We only did 2 very small sections of little rapids, but that was enough for us beginners, I actually think Shaun was more freaked out than I was. But we were brave and we did it! We really enjoyed our time together without the kids. We really needed it! But we were sure happy see them again we really did miss them. So that is all for our recent adventures. I hope we have more soon!

More Summer Fun....

Well I bet you cannot believe that I am already updating my blog again, well either can I. So August so far has been fun, a little chilly, but fun. August 1st I had Ethan's friend party, it was a lot of work but it was really fun. He had all of his neighborhood friends and his cousin Sammy over for a Pirate party. They had a treasure hunt and played pin the eye patch on the pirate and ate pizza and cake and ice cream. All of the kids seemed to have had fun and I was ready for a nap when it was all done, but it was worth it. Ethan had a blast and still talks about it. Thanks to my big sis Courtney who stayed and helped out, I don't know what I would have done without her.
Later that same day we headed up to Park City to my uncle (cousin) Jeff's house for his annual back yard concert. It was fabulous the music was wonderful and the kids had a blast jumping on the tramp and dancing to the music. It is always a fun time when he does the concert. We look forward to it every summer.
On August 5 I took the kids to the Zoo with my mom and Sister Courtney and her family and some of the Bird family as well. It was one of the weekly Bird summer activities. It was a lot of fun. It was a little hot that day, but not too bad. We saw the new baby giraffe that was only 6 days old. It was so cute. The kids had a really fun time but were tired by the end of the day for sure.
Then on August 7 we headed up to Bear Lake to have a fun weekend with Papa and Grandma Michelle and her kids. Unfortunately the weather was not too great on Saturday. It was cold and rainy so we decided to go bowling but when we got to the bowling alley it was closed for the summer. So we went out to eat in Garden City instead. Then later in the day we walked down to the lake and Shaun took both kids on a four wheeler ride and Ethan drove the tractor with Don. So as we were playing on the beach Sophie who is our little collector, was picking up sea shells and walking into the water to clean off the shells. Well she kept loosing her balance, but I was able to catch her the first two times she stumbled. But the third time Shaun wasn't quite fast enough and she went down face first into the lake. And it was COLD but she didn't even cried just shivered and sighed it was too cute. We couldn't help but laugh, so we put her back on the four wheeler and headed back up to the cabin to give her a warm bath.
Later Michelle was kind enough to watch the kids while Don took Shaun and I on a four wheeler ride on some of the trails. It was a blast I got a little freaked out on a few of the washed out trails that were pretty uneven but still did it and had fun! I was glad I went, what a view at the top of the hill the lake was Beautiful the bumpy ride was definitely worth it.
Sunday the weather was a lot better so we were able to get some sun and play in the lake a little. The water was still pretty cold, but not too bad. Shaun was able to go water skiing and the kids played in the lake for a minute until they realized how cold it really was. So all in all it was a great weekend getaway with great family and fun. Thanks again to Don and Michelle for inviting us up.
So August has been a fun filled month so far and we still have more fun things planned. We feel very blessed to be able to do so many fun things as a family and to have so much extended family to have fun with as well.

Better late than never...

So I finally decided it was time to update the blog. Things have been a little crazy busy in the Greene household. With me working 3 full days a week and Shaun working all the time it has been crazy. But a good kind of crazy, we feel very blessed that Real Estate is going so well for Shaun. Despite the economy he is doing pretty well and has a lot of clients that he is currently helping buy or sell homes.
This summer so far has been fun we haven't done a whole lot of vacations, but have had a lot of day trips. We did go to Park City for a few days in May with the whole Fullmer clan and that was a blast. We have spent a lot of days in the canyon and some days at the pool as well. Shaun and I took the kids to lagoon the first week in July and had a blast. But we were all sure tired at the end of the day.
Another high point of our summer has been the get togethers with my Bird family. (my moms side) My cousin Tiff had the greatest idea to have each of the sisters (my moms sisters) plan an outing each week. My mom has 6 sisters so they each get 2 weeks in the summer to plan an outing. It has been so great to see them so much this summer. Because of my work schedule I haven't been able to go to all of them, but still quite a few. So far this summer we have been to many parks, up the canyon, swimming, and to This Is The Place state park. And this next week will be going to the Zoo. I am so glad we have all been able to do this, it has been really good for all of us.
The kids are doing great!! Ethan Just turned 4 (I can't believe it either) and is so smart and wonderful as ever. We celebrated his Birthday on the 24th so we had my family and most of Shaun's family over for a BBQ and birthday festivities and fireworks. We got Ethan a big-boy bike for his birthday, with training wheels. And he loves it and does very well on it. We are getting ready to have his friend party tomorrow with his friends from the ward and his cousin Sammy of course. We are proud of Ethan daily and feel so very blessed to have him in our family.
Sophie is AMAZING she is such a great part of our family. She is talking up a storm lately and it was just out of the blue that she started. Some of the things she says... "all done" "go bye bye" "thank you" "mommy cookie" and every time she sees my newest nephew she says "hi baby jack jack" in a really high voice it is so dang cute! It is hard to believe that she can already communicate so well when she is only 16 months old.
Well that is a break down for now we will be going to Bear Lake next weekend so we will update about that soon.

TIME

Well time seems to move too fast, especially when you wish it would go slow. I am enjoying watching my kids grow and learn, but there are days that I wish I could freeze time and just enjoy them as they are now forever. My mom always said if she could go back in time she would go back to when her kids were 3 because that is the best age. I agree Ethan is 3 and a half and such a joy and so much fun. He has us laughing at least 10 times a day. He does and says the cutest things, just yesterday he asked us to sing the "shut up" baby song, he ment to say "hush little baby." I am amazed at how smart he is, he was frustrated that he couldn't draw a perfect circle while he was trying to draw mickey mouse. So he pushed a chair over to the cupboards and got a bowl and a cup and traced. Neither Shaun or I showed him how to do this he figured it out on his own. Then after perfectly drawing the circles in the right place all by himself he drew a perfect little face. I am just amazed by this little boy daily.

I am also loving the stage that Sophie is at right now and cannot believe that she is going to be 1 year old next week. Every day she seems to learn something new and is amazed by something. It seems like just yesterday we brought home this little 4lb baby. And now she is almost 1 and trying to walk. I can't believe it. We are so blessed to have the sweet kids that we do and I am proud of them daily.

Better Late Than Never!

Well as you can tell I am not very good about keeping my blog updated, so lets see if I can get everyone updated.
The last time I blogged was November 29 so her I go...
CHRISTMAS: We had a wonderful holiday Ethan was very happy with all the gifts he recieved. Sophie had no Idea what was going on, but she enjoyed ripping up paper and finding a toy inside. We stayed very busy over the holidays the week of Christmas we had a party every day but it was fun to see family and friends. We were sad to miss one family party the day after Christmas though, Shaun's aunt Wendy had a party that we missed. It was the day of the big snow storm and our car was stuck in the driveway it took Shaun an hour to dig it out. Then once we got on the road we were slipping and sliding everywhere then the freeway was backed up to do an accident and we were already an hour and half late so we decided to just go home. We were very disappointed about not seeing the family that day.
CAR PROBLEMS: It seems like we have had nothing but car problems for the last 6 months or so. First off the pontiac has been running rough for about a year but has been really bad in the last 6 months we have taken it to get fixed twice but it still isn't working right. Then there is our truck, when Shaun was still working at RC Willey his catalitic converter was stolen. We just barely got that fixed so we finely had 2 cars again but then some spring thing on the rear tire broke. And you cannot drive with that broken so now we are down to one car again until that is fixed. Well we had 2 cars for 1 week anyway. I HATE CARS!

SOPHIE: Well she is 11 months old now and we can't believe it. She is a joy to have in our family. She always has a smile on her face and loves to play with her big brother. She has had a rough month though she had 2 ear infections and a really bad cough, but she was still a happy kid.

ETHAN: He is so much fun he loves to draw and can draw well. This year he went into sunbeams at church and he loves it. He loves singing time the most, and he loves to come home and sing to us the songs he learned that day. He is so smart and keeps us on our toes, he has a great memory. If we tell him that we are going to do something we better do it because he will remember. His bestfriend is his cousin Sammy he hasn't seen him in a week because they have both been sick. So he keeps telling me to call sam and have him come over.

MOM AND DAD: We have been good we are staying busy between Shaun's real estate business and me working at the pharmacy 2 days a week. But we are happy and healthy and feel very blessed!